Toronto bound Boeing jet crash lands at Guyana airport, 10 injured

The Fly Jamaica plane, which had been carrying 126 people on its way to Toronto, seen after crash-landing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Georgetown, Guyana on Nov 9, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Denis Chabrol) The Fly Jamaica Airways plane was bound for Toronto when it suffered a hydraulic problem shortly after takeoff and returned to the airport, crashing and careening off the runway, Transportation Minister David Patterson said. “Everyone was going crazy, screaming, crying for their lives, everything,” said passenger Invor Bedessee, describing how some people were injured getting off the flight. “There were (some people) injured because of coming down the slide or not getting off the flight fast enough, so the people behind them were kicking them,” he told Canada’s public broadcaster CBC. “There was a lot of chaos.” Bedessee said takeoff had been delayed by about 45 minutes because one of the left-side doors had “not closed properly” and a maintenance crew was called to fix the problem. Patterson said the injuries were not life-threatening and the injured were taken to a hospital near the airport on the South America country’s Atlantic coast. SPINAL INJURIES Guyana’s Chief Medical Officer, Shamdeo Persaud, said five of the injured had been referred to another hospital for “further investigation” for spinal injuries. The 118 passengers on board the Boeing 757-200 included 82 Canadians. There were eight crew members. “To date, we have no reports of any Canadian citizens being injured,” said government spokesman Philip Hannan in Ottawa. “Canadian consular officials are… [Read full story]